Cases Gather Dust
in Courts as Zardari Rots in Jail
By
Aijaz Mahar
ISLAMABAD:
A high-powered four-member lawyers 
team
headed by Farooq Naik and comprising
Abu Bakar Zardari, Arshad Tabraiz and Qurban Ali Khoso,
represents Asif Zardari in the numerous cases against him in various
courts.
The
lawyers are not shy to declare that most of these cases have no
substance and evidence but are politically motivated.
Senior
lawyer Farooq Naik said that Asif Ali Zardari has been imprisoned
in Pakistan and seventh consecutive year has been started now
to him in jail. Since the government of his spouse, Benazir Bhutto
former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was dissolved by Presidential
fiat on 5th November, l996.
He
was arrested on November 5, 1996 from the Governor house Lahore
and since than facing the solitary confinement in different jails
and presently he is kept in a small room in the government's hospital
known as PIMS at Islamabad declared as sub jail.
He
is no doubt an ailing person but his morale is very high as he
believes in democracy, social justice, equality before law and
supremacy of God who tests his people by putting them under various
pressures as after all life and death is Ordained by God Almighty
claimed Mr. Naik.
While
telling the history of the cases registered against Asif Ali Zardari,
Farooq said it is the painful story spread over the years because
past three successive governments of Farooq Leghari, Nawaz Sharif
and Musharraf has registered 16 cases in Sindh and Punjab provinces.
Out
of the 16 cases, in one case, Pakistan Steel Mills reference,
he was convicted. He was acquitted the case known as Karachi Electric
Supply Corporation (KESC) case, while out of remaining 14 under
trial cases he got bail in 13 cases and is now in jail because
of the BMW car case.
There
is at present eight references under National Accountability Bureau
(NAB) Ordinance 1999 pending against Zardari at Rawalpindi and
Attock Fort, a military garrison, he observed.
A
legal expert said if the list of corruption charges against General
Musharraf was prepared, it would be far more substantial and larger
than the cases against Asif Zardari as in none of these cases
conclusive evidence has been produced to convict him. That is
why the Government has dragged these cases on to keep Asif in
jail. Here is a brief list of the charges:
1.
Asset Reference No.l4/2001: This Reference is pending
since July 1998. Presently it is being tried in the Accountability
Court at Attock Fort since April 2001 after Zardari was shifted
from Karachi to Rawalpindi/Islamabad by NAB authorities. The prosecution
till date has only examined 33 witnesses out of 62 witnesses.
2.
Polo Ground Reference No. 6/2000: This Reference
was adjourned sine die by the Accountability Court in Attock Fort
on l7th March 2001. No date of hearing has been fixed since then.
3.
Ursus Tractor Reference No. 25 /2000: This Reference,
which was filed in July 1998, has not proceeded at all since the
day it was transferred from the Accountability Court in Rawalpindi
to the Accountability Court in Attock Fort in November 2001.
4.
Cotecna Reference No.35/2001: This Reference, which
was filed in July 1998, has also not proceeded since 12th June
2001 when it was adjourned sine die by the Accountability Court
in Rawalpindi on the request of the Prosecutor General NAB.
5.
SGS Reference No. 41/2000: This Reference was remanded
to Accountability Court Rawalpindi, by the Supreme Court of Pakistan
on 5th Apri1 2001 after setting aside the judgment of the Accountability
Court dated l4th April 1999 convicting Zardari along with his
spouse Benazir Bhutto for retrial. Thereafter the prosecution
evidence has not commenced till date.
Application of Asif Zardari that
he has served his sentence and that he cannot be tried again on
the principle of "double jeopardy" has not been heard
and decided by the court despite the fact it was filed as far
back as l4th September 2002 under Article 13 of the Constitution
of Pakistan which lays down that no one can be tried or convicted
twice for the same offence".
6.
A.R.Y. Gold Reference No.23/2000: This Reference,
which was filed in July 1998, is pending before the Accountability
Court in Rawalpindi since its transfer in the beginning of year
2000. The Prosecution has not examined any witness since its transfer
to the present court.
7.
BMW Care Reference 59/2002: In this Reference, warrants
of arrest of Zardari were issued in the evening of l5th December
2001 when he was bailed out in the last of the cases viz. Narcotics
Case on 15/17 December, 2001. Issuance of Warrant and arrest of
Asif in this Reference was only to prevent his release. The allegation
is that he imported the car in 1995 and miss-declared the value
thereof and evaded payment of duties and charges. First of all
the car is not registered in the name of Asif. It has changed
ownership thrice and there is no document linking Zardari with
the car. Secondly under Section 32 of Customs Act 1969, if there
is a declaration by any importer, short levied duty cannot be
recovered after three years. In this case car was imported in
1995 and as such the recovery of dues, if any, is barred by limitation.
As far as the trial of the case before
the Accountability Court is concerned, the NAB filed the Reference
in May 2002. After the court indicted Zardari, the prosecutor
examined one witness, who had been instrumental in importing the
car from UK to Pakistan. The said witness has stated that one
Ghani Ansari and his brother Rashid Ansari imported the said car
through him and that Zardari had nothing to do with it. Asif has
filed application for the acquittal, which is pending.
8.
Steel Mills Reference No. 27/2000. In this Reference,
which was filed in June 1998, the Accountability Court Rawalpindi
convicted Zardari on 12 September 2002 after being put under extreme
pressure by the government. The judgment was announced at 8.50
p.m. which is against practice and law as the court rise for the
day at 4.00 p.m. Surprisingly at 9.00 p.m. on the same day the
government announced on national media about the conviction in
order to malign and defame Zardari.
The
conviction order is without substance as there is not an iota
of evidence involving Asif in the commission of the alleged offence.
The allegation in the said case was that Mr. Sajjad Hussain, former
Chairman Pakistan Steel Mills in order to gain favor of Asif Ali
Zardari for confirmation of his service arranged a sum of rupees
30 million from mercury corporation which had a contract with
the Pakistan Steel Mills by giving the said Corporation and paid
the same to Asif Ali Zardari. Sajjad Hussain unfortunately died
before he gave evidence in the court.
However,
during his life time while he was unlawfully confined by the Nawaz
regime to extract forcible confession from him, his wife Mrs.
Amna Hussain had filed constitution petition in the Sindh High
Court at Karachi contending that her husband is suffering from
various deceases including acute depression and his being forced
by the Nawaz regime specially senator Saif ur Rehman the then
Chairman Ehtesab Bureau to make statement Asif Ali Zardari.
The
irony of the case is that National Accountability Bureau recovered
the said sum of Rs. 30 million from Mercury Corporation, as prior
to the announcement of judgment convicting Asif Ali Zardari but
the said fact was not revealed to the Accountability Court, which
convicted the Asif Ali Zardari. The judgment is nothing but travesty
of justice said the lawyer.
Six
Criminal Cases at Karachi (Sindh): The said cases
are not being proceeding since February 2001 when Zardari was
sent on internal exile from his home town Karachi within the province
of Sindh to Rawalpindi/Islamabad within the province of Punjab
about 1000 miles away. These cases included four murder cases
registered against him told Farooq Naik.
The
Government is responsible for the delay, as Asif is confined in
Rawalpindi, is not being produced before these courts at Karachi
despite the fact that orders for his production are regularly
being issued for every date of hearing by the concerned courts.
Murder cases are titled as Murtaza Bhutto, Justice Nizam, Alam
Baloch and Sajjad Hussain. One case is registered against Asif
allegedly said that he has shifted households to Surrey Mahal
London form Bilawal House Karachi.
Two
cases have been registered against Asif alleging that he attempted
to commit suicide in jail while he was under investigation.
Narcotics
Case No. 436 1998: This case is pending in session
court Lahore and Asif Zardari is being taken to Lahore for appearance
before the Sessions Judge in violation to the order of the Supreme
Court but however, he is not being produced before the Court at
Karachi under the cover of order of Supreme Court.
In
the said case since 1998 till date out of 23 witnesses only five-prosecution
witness have been examined. The evidence of all these witnesses
which has come on record explicitly show that a false case at
the behest of Saif Ur Rehman former Chairman of Accountability
Bureau during the period of Mian Nawaz Sharif, the then prime
minister, was registered against Zardari, his lawyer observed.
He said it is obvious that the government with malafide intentions
and ulterior motives in a systematic and planned manner wants
to keep Asif in prison for the rest of his life claimed Naik.
Asif
Zardari is suffering from various life threatening ailments including
Spondialitis. Zardari was admitted in Dr. Ziauddin University
Hospital, Clifton Karachi, which had the requisite facilities
including Hydrotherapy under the order of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, dated 11th August 2000.
However,
NAB authorities without the permission of the Supreme Court shifted
him from Karachi the Rawalpindi/Islamabad unilaterally and arbitrarily
in February 2001 and confined him in a small room, the windows
of which remain closed all the time and black painted, in the
hospital known as Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS)
Islamabad.
All
the facilities granted to Asif Ali Zardari in the hospital including
Television and meeting with his counsel and family members (twice
a week) are under the order of various courts. It can be said
without fear of contradiction that government never of its own
granted or gave any facility to Asif, said Naik. The officials
on duty have strict instructions not to allow any facility to
him over and above granted by the courts.
A
qualified physician/doctor does not accompany Asif in the ambulance
which is old and rickety, for appearance before various courts
said Farooq.
The
government till date has flouted the order of the court by not
providing with the facility of walk as ordered by the court under
the advise of the doctors and which is having serious adverse
effect on his health, claimed Naik.
The hydrotherapy treatment is not
being carried out, as the said facility is not available in PIMS.
The said facility is of utmost necessity as the specialists who
examined him, have recommended the same.
